Floral Scenter

The verdict

Floral Scenter is the most institutionally established florist in west Birmingham, and the two things it chooses to advertise tell you exactly what kind of shop it is. The first is its client list: work for the BBC and for Birmingham's Metropolitan Cathedral. The second is its refrigeration. Most florists talk about creativity. This one talks about the cold room, and after thirty-six years in the trade that is the more revealing boast. Cold storage is the single largest determinant of vase life, and it is the thing customers never see and rarely ask about. A shop that invests in it and then puts it on the website is a shop that expects to be judged on how long the flowers last. That matches everything else about the operation: British Florist Association accreditation, an eflorist account, decades of church and corporate work, and a Macmillan coffee morning every year. It is not fashionable and it is not trying to be. The design is where it gives ground. Lilies, orchids and exotics feature heavily, the work is classical and symmetrical, and nothing on the published range would surprise you. If you want garden-loose and seasonal you should go elsewhere. If you want a large formal arrangement for a church, a lectern or a reception that will still look right in five days, this is among the two or three best options in the city.

The shop trades Monday to Saturday, 9am to 5.30pm, from Tennal Road in Harborne, and covers Birmingham and Solihull with local delivery. The service list runs the full institutional range: bridal, bridesmaid, church and venue flowers on the wedding side, and wreaths, letters and heart tributes on the funeral side. Accreditations are listed openly: British Florist Association, eflorist and the Small Business Bureau. Overseas shipping is offered, which is unusual at this end of the trade.

Has supplied flowers to the BBC and to Birmingham's Metropolitan Cathedral.

Who it is not for

Anyone wanting loose, seasonal, garden-style work. In Bloom in the Jewellery Quarter is the clearest opposite on this list and worth the drive if that is the brief.

How it compares

Urban Design Flowers in Hall Green is the other long-serving Birmingham florist with genuine institutional credentials, and it has the wider everyday range and clearer prices. Floral Scenter is the better bet specifically for church and cathedral scale work.

Getting there

Tennal Road sits between Harborne and Quinton, off the Harborne Park Road side of the village. There is on-street parking nearby, which is more than can be said for Harborne High Street itself, and the 11 outer circle runs close.